Press Release

Elections, Security and the Next Government

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The majority of Israelis think that Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria harms Israel’s security and want a right or center-right government.

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January 8, 2019 - The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University reveals that: 54% of Israelis thinks that the attorney-general should decide and publicly announce his decision whether or not to indict PM Netanyahu, while 34% think he should wait until after the elections. 69% of Israelis do not want the ultra-Orthodox parties to be part of the next government.

Main Findings:

Indictment Charges – 54% of Israelis (52% of Jewish Israelis and 64% of Arab Israelis) think that the attorney-general should decide and publicly announce his decision as to whether or not to indict PM Netanyahu. 34% (36% of Jewish Israelis and 26% of Arab Israelis) think that he should wait until after the elections, lest the decision interfere in the electoral process.

New Government – 64% of Israelis want either a right or center-right wing government (73% of Jewish Israelis and 21% of Arab Israelis). 69% of Israelis (65% of Jewish Israelis and 86% of Arab Israelis) do not want the ultra-Orthodox parties to be part of the next government.

Trump’s Decision to Withdraw from Syria – 58% of Israelis (61% of Jewish Israelis and 41% of Arab Israelis) think that Trump’s decision to withdraw the US forces from Syria harms Israel’s security interests - only 28% disagree.

Electoral System – 53% of Israelis (58% of Jewish Israelis and 25% of Arab Israelis) think that Israel needs a different electoral system which would put a few large parties in place and cut the number of small narrow-- interest parties.

The Peace Index is a project of the Evens Program for Mediation and Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University and the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research of the Israel Democracy Institute. This month's survey was conducted by telephone and on the internet on January 2-3, 2019, by the Midgam Research Institute. The survey included 600 respondents, who constitute a representative national sample of the adult population of Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum measurement error for the entire sample is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%. Statistical analyses were done by Ms. Yasmin Alkalay.

Read the full Peace Index.